"What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned something might have happened.
"I’m in a hurry at the moment but yes, everything’s fine. Meet me outside the palace gates, under the big tree when the 10th bell rings. Thom will be coming as well."
"What? Why? Where are we going?"
He smiled secretly. "You’ll just have to meet us there to find out."
"At least tell me where are we going? Raoul? Come back here! Tell me!" she demanded as he walked away.
"Remember to meet us under the big tree when the 10th bell rings!" he called over his shoulder.
Muttering, she entered her room to find Maude grinning at her like a Cheshire cat, with her hands clasped in front of her. "Ah, Alanna my dear child. You’ve grown up right in front of my eyes!"
She backed away from her, cautious. "Maude? Have you got a fever? Because you’ve been acting very strangely lately!"
"Me? I’m fine! Nothing’s wrong. Enough about me. Alanna dearest, have you decided what you are going to wear when you meet Raoul tonight?"
"What - How did you – Did you eavesdrop on us? Wait, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know." Alanna returned to reading her book, sighing. "Besides, it’s not what you think. It’s not a date. And as to what I’ll be wearing," she shrugged " I’ll just pick something out later. Probably the blue dress I wore yesterday."
"What?!" Maude snapped of her happy mood. "Alanna! You cannot be serious! It has so many stains on it! And a rip in the side!"
"So?" questioned Alanna, turning a page in the book. "I don’t care. Besides I don’t know where we’re going. And it’s not going to be just – "
"Alanna! Haven’t you learnt anything from the convent? You are 16 years old! It’s time to find a husband! I won’t always be here to look after you, you know. You do want to look your best don’t you? Well then, let’s start getting ready! Put that book down!" Maude ordered.
The next three hours were spent preparing Alanna for her mysterious outing, involving Thom and Raoul. The first hour saw them both arguing which outfit to wear. Whenever Alanna chose one, Maude said it was either too boring or the colour didn’t suit her and whenever Maude chose one, Alanna said it was too sharp or too revealing. Finally, they settled on a dark-coloured dress with sleeves that flowed and a low neckline (but not too low to make Alanna conscious), which also included pockets (so Alanna could bring a dagger, in case of any incidents), set with dainty slippers and a cloak. The next hour saw Maude fixing Alanna’s tangled and tattered hair. It took half an hour just to get rid of all the tangles and to straighten it, complete with Alanna’s yells of pain. And then it took a further ten minutes to decide what to do with her hair. Again, none of them could agree on anything, so in the end they decided for the simple, neat yet sophisticated look: a plait with a few tendrils to frame her face. The last hour saw Maude’s unsuccessful attempts to place face-paint on Alanna. Maude wanted to do an all-out makeover, but Alanna wasn’t having it. She didn’t want any at all in fact, but in the end a swipe of blush appeared on her cheeks.
"Stand back Alanna, let me have a look at you " said Maude
She obeyed and Maude nodded with satisfaction. "You know, if you’d only wear just a bit of face-paint each day you’d actually look like a proper Lady."
Alanna gave a snort. "Fat chance of that happening. You should know that by now Maude."
The bell rang accompanied by a watchman’s cry ‘the 10th bell at night’.
"Well there’s my signal. Guess I better go. Goodbye Maude. Remember to blow out the candles and don’t wait up for me." Alanna threw her cloak over her shoulders and disappeared into the corridor, leaving Maude pondering what time she was going to come back.
It was dark outside the palace, but a small ball of bright purple fire lighted the night. Two figures could be seen, a boy sitting on a rock and a young man leaning against an enormous tree.
"Did you get the money from Jeris today?" asked Raoul, crossing his arms.
"No," Thom shook his head and smiled grimly "You know what he did? He opened his door a bit and then said ‘You want it? Well you ain’t gonna get it! I don’t own you any money!’ and slammed the door in front of my face! That – that piece of trash! That chicken! I ought to smash his face in! "
"Indeed, you should," a voice said dryly " but I doubt you have the strength to do that."
Thom directed his ball of light to where the voice had come from. "Alanna! Thank God you’re here! We’ve been waiting for ages! So can we go now Raoul?"
"Not yet " he replied, looking towards the palace. "We still have to wait for someone else to come."
"Where are we going anyway? And who’s the other person? Is it Jon? Gary?" asked Alanna.
"Jon said that he might not make it tonight, but he’d try," her twin answered. "His mother wanted him to meet some new ladies that arrived today."
"Oh," she said, "Well is it Gary?" She tried to fight the disappointment inside her that had risen when she heard about Jon.
"Gary?" laughed Raoul. "Nah. He’s too busy spending the night with Cythera of Elden. Apparently, ‘she has eyes like the moon and lips you’d think were from the goddess’. Needless to say, he’s infatuated with her. He won’t be coming."
"So who are we waiting for then? And where are we going?" she asked again, impatient.
"We’re going to celebrate your win tonight!" Thom slung an arm around Alanna’s shoulders.
"Really? Wow…Thanks! But you don’t have to…"
"Are you kidding? What have you done with my sister Alanna?! Of course we have to celebrate! You beat Jeris of Nylord today, the best squire archer! And you won 100 gold nobles! Come on!"
" Well…err…okay…if you say it like that…but who are we waiting for?" she asked again, annoyed now. "If we’re going to celebrate my win, don’t I have the right to know who’s coming? Could you please tell me Raoul?"
"Turn around and you’ll see " a familiar voice said right behind her.
Turning her head around slowly, Alanna came face to face with a pair of blue sapphire eyes. She swallowed with sudden difficulty.
"Jon," she said. "I thought you were busy tonight?"
"I was busy," the Prince corrected, smiling down at her. "But now", he said with mock weakness, "I’m terribly unwell and I have to rest till tomorrow."
Alanna smiled and moved away from him. She didn’t want Jon to notice that her heart rate had gone up.
" Well now that Jon’s here," Thom butted in. "Could we please get moving, Raoul?"
"Yes, yes, okay, okay! I say, Thom, you’re usually not so excited to get out of the palace, " observed Raoul. "What’s the reason?"
Thom blushed, something all three were surprised to see. "Well, yes, err – I – err…" he stammered.
"What Thom is trying to say is that," supplied Alanna. "He’s eager to get moving because he wants to introduce me to some of his friends."
"What?! No – Oh yeah … yep that’s why I’m so – err…eager to…get…moving…"
"Sure is! We’ll meet you two down there then. Come on Thom!" and with that she dragged Thom with her down the path, leaving the two puzzled knights behind.
"What do you think that was all about?" Raoul asked Jon, as they mounted up on their horses.
"I don’t know. You should know, you’re his knight-master!"
Raoul shrugged. "I’m as clueless as you are, Jon. "
"Well in that case, why don’t we start moving then? It’d certainly do us no good standing here."
"True. Very true. Extremely true. Immensely – "
"Raoul, I get the point, " interrupted his friend. "So, what do you think of Alanna?"
When they were both out of earshot, Alanna prodded Thom.
"Okay, spill. Why are you so eager to go where we’re going?"
"Well, because I haven’t seen my friends for – "
"Give me the real reason Thom. This is your twin you’re talking to."
"Damn it," the boy muttered. "After 6 years, you still know me so well. Well," he started, "it’s because…"
"Because…?" Alanna prompted.
"Um, I …err…"
"Is it really that hard to say?"
"Yes! It really is!"
"Look Thom, whatever it is, I promise that I’ll be supportive, no matter what. Okay?"
"How will you know that?"
"Thom!" yelled his sister in frustration, her short temper beginning to rise.
"Okay, okay! It’s because…well I’ve met someone…" he mumbled.
"Well, that’s great! I’m glad you made a friend! What’s his name?"
He mumbled something Alanna couldn’t hear. " Could you say it once more again? I couldn’t hear it."
"It’s not a he. It’s a she."
" Oh…Oh… well…hey, that’s still great! You have to introduce me - "
" We’re a little more than just friends."
"Oh." She was at a loss for words. Thom had a girlfriend?!
They walked in awkward silence, until Thom broke the ice.
"I knew it! I knew it! You think that this is all a big joke, don’t you?"
"No, no, no! I’m just – it wasn’t what I was expecting…"
"But why? Did you think that I’d never fall in love?"
"No, no!" she said with emphasis "I always thought that you’d fall in love one day. It’s just a shock to me. I mean, I’ve lived with you for ten years and you’ve never shown any interest in girls before."
"That’s because I was 10 years old, sis."
"Well, still…so how long have you two been together?"
"Around two months."
"What’s her name?"
" Linny."
"That’s a nice name."
Another awkward silence passed. Alanna nodded, her eyes on the ground. "Great. Well hey, I’m happy for you guys! You have to remember to introduce me to her, all right?"
No reply came. "Thom?"
She looked up. No one was beside her.
"Thom? Where are you?" A sudden noise behind her made her look.
Her twin had stopped walking and was just staring at her. His face held an expression, one that she couldn’t read.
"Goddess, Thom you gave me a fright there!"
Thom gave no reply.
She walked towards him, panic beginning to rise. "Thom? Answer me Thom! You’re starting to scare me! What’s wrong?"
"Huh? What? Who?" Thom broke out of his trance.
"You scared the living daylights out of me!"
"I did? Um, sorry. I was just thinking … about something that’s all. Sorry again."
The hesitation in his voice did not reassure Alanna. "What were you thinking about?"
"Something, that’s all. Anyway, don’t you want to know where we’re going? "
"Don’t try and – "
"Here we are: the place your celebration shall take place my dear sister!"
Vowing silently to ask him about his strange behaviour later, she looked to where he pointed and noticed a sign.
"The Dancing Dove?" she questioned, as they approached. "What sort of place is this?" She could hear people laughing inside.
"It’s a bar. What? Too rough for your liking? Oh no! You’ve turned into one of those simple-minded, chesty, delicate ladies Alanna!" teased Thom.
"Phft" she snorted. "Delicate? How about we have an arm-wrestle tomorrow and see who’s delicate!"
Laughing, Thom led her inside. Immediately, the crowd started to cheer and clap. Several people greeted Thom all at once, pushing Alanna out of the way.
"Thom!" she yelled, trying to be heard over the noise. "Thom!" But the noise was too loud. Moving out of the forceful crowd, she sat at the bar and ordered something to drink. She heard a few whistles aimed at her, but chose to ignore them. One man however, was persistent. He sat down next to her and slid his hand down her arm. "Ye look lonely t’night lass. What do ye say we get upstairs and get te know e’ch other better, hmm?"
"No thank you. Please remove your hand." Alanna said through gritted teeth.
"Aw, come on, Lass. Don’t play te – hard – te - get game. All I ‘eed is a signal, " he leaned in and whispered, " and I could show ye how good I’m at keepin’ ye warm in bed."
Anger and outrage overtook her. How dare this man think she was a one-night stand! She let her fist slam hard into the man’s side, causing him to fall from his stool.
The man cried out in pain, furious now. "Why, ye little naught good – " He raised his arm to slap her. But a muscular arm, which belonged to a man with a strong tall build and brown hair, grabbed it. He seemed familiar to Alanna. "Enough," the stranger commanded. "Didn’t ye Ma ever taught ye to treat ladies nicely?"
"Out ‘er my way! This ain’t got naught to do wit ye!"
"If ye don’t stop tis right now, I’ll be forced te make ye stop " the stranger warned, his voice hinting at a threat.
The man considered his choices. He could walk away and have a ruined reputation or he could have his head bashed in by this stranger, who was a head taller than him and in better shape than he was. Glaring coldly at Alanna, the man limped away.
"Thank you for that. But I could’ve handled it myself."
The stranger chuckled, making Alanna a bit annoyed. "What? What’s so funny?" she asked.
" It’s just – no, forget what I said. Nothing’s funny, just me being an old fool. So what’s a pretty lass like you, doing in a place like tis?" he gestured the room before them. People were still congratulating Thom, while others had chosen to go back to their seats and drink. Candles lit the whole place up.
Alanna noticed that the stranger had hazel eyes framed with long lashes, before answering him. " Well, I’m here to celebrate my brother’s win. But it seems like he doesn’t need me to celebrate."
"Aye…would ye brother be Thom of Trebond?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
The stranger chuckled again. " It ain’t too hard te tell, considering that ye and him have te same height, same hair colour and same eye colour. I’m guessing that ye Lady Alanna of Trebond?"
She flinched at the mention of the word ‘Lady’. "Yes, that’s right. And who might you be?"
"One of ye brother’s good friends."
"You know what I mean."
"Aye, I do. And aye, I shall tell ye. The name’s George."
"George? George! Why, you’re the one that was in the cloak today!" she exclaimed. No wonder he looked so familiar!
"And how would you know that, lass?" he asked suspiciously
"Oh…well because you came up to – to –to Thom! I, err, saw you both!"
"But that don’t explain how ye know my name."
"Oh that," she gave a nervous laugh. "Well, err, Thom told me, so that’s why." She cursed herself silently for nearly exposing the plan.
"Ah, I see. But I’m quite sure that -"
At that moment, Jon rushed over. "Alanna! Are you all right? Someone told me that you were in a fight!" His eyes were clouded with concern.
"I’m fine, thanks to – " Alanna began.
"GEORGE COOPER!" yelled someone. "SOMEONE WANTS YA BY THE DOOR!"
George groaned. "Not now! Ah well it was great meetin ye Alanna and hope I’ll see ye soon again. Jon, keep an eye on her, otherwise that jerk might come back again." He disappeared into the crowd, leaving Alanna pondering about him.
"Do you two know each other?" she asked the Prince as she sipped her drink. She hoped the brandy would help her stay awake. A sudden wave of tiredness had hit her.
He sat down. "Yes, we’ve known each other a few years now. Gary and Raoul know him as well."
"Does he know that you’re the Prince? How did you all meet?"
Leaning back into his seat, he thought back to that very day. "Yes, he does know. Well, Thom and Gary knew him first. George saw Thom the first time he came here. And then Thom introduced me to George, when he asked me to go with him to check out his horse, Moonlight. After that, Thom introduced Raoul to him. And that’s how we all know George."
"Ah, he seems like a nice fellow. What does he do for a living?" She pinched herself to keep awake.
"Well, he’s the King of Thieves."
"Really? That’s nice."
Jon shot her an amazed look. "Are you feeling alright Alanna?"
"Of course I am. Why’d u ask?"
"Well, it’s just a surprise that you don’t seem …shocked or anything..."
Laughing she replied, "Well you’re talking to the girl who can beat her brother in archery here. I’m not a normal Lady, as you probably might’ve noticed. And why should I be shocked? He’s a person like everybody else in this room."
Jon shook his head. "Alanna, you never cease to amaze me."
"Of course! If I did, I’d be just another ordinary Lady." She yawned. "Sorry," she apologised. "Now tell me what did you do today? Tell me from the very beginning."
And so the hours passed, Jonathon giving her a report on what happened, while Alanna on the other hand, fought to keep awake. "So then after the competition, Delia says – " he was interrupted by a new weight on his shoulder. Searching, he found the cause. Alanna had fallen asleep on his shoulder. She looked so comfortable, peaceful, serene like a lake that he decided to let her sleep. An hour went by, when suddenly Alanna stirred.
Her eyes fluttered open, revealing what she had done. She stood up immediately. "Oh my! Sorry Jonath – I mean Your Maje – I didn’t mean to – sorry, Your Highness – " Jonathon’s hand covered her mouth.
He chuckled lightly. "Don’t worry about it. I sometimes fall asleep as well."
"How long have we been here? No, to be more precise, how long have I slept?"
"Just a little over an hour. Here, I’ll take you home." He offered.
"No, don’t do that. I mean, I don’t want to ruin your evening! You stay here, I’ll be fine!" She yawned. "Really! I’ll just go tell – " she stumbled back.
Jon caught her. "No, whether you like it or not, I’m going with you." Alanna continued to protest, until Jonathon whispered in her ear, "you wouldn’t refuse a royal order would you?"
She grinned sleepily at him. "Guess I have no way out. I’ll just go tell Thom. That okay?"
"Sure, I’ll wait for you by the door."
Ten minutes later, both of them were outside. Alanna took one took at the path and let out a sleepy groan (a/n: I dunno how in the heck that’s possible).
"What’s wrong?"
"I’m going to have sore feet, walking up that path! I wouldn’t complain if I wasn’t feeling so tired tonight."
"Don’t worry, you can ride with me on Darkness (a/n: sorry, forgot what jon’s horse’s name is)" Jonathon led out a horse, it’s coat blended in with the night, it’s eyes only visible. Since Alanna was too tired to argue, she let him pull her up.
And since she was too tired to notice, she fell asleep against him without knowing. Jonathon just smiled and kicked his horse into a trot. Afraid that she might catch a cold, he wrapped her cloak around her, making sure that that she was comfortable and warm. Alanna’s reaction was just to snuggle up to him more.
The moonlight seem to shine only on the couple as they made their way towards the Palace. A star twinkled above them.
******************